weather and climate for social studies level 4

weather and climate for social studies grade level four

1. WEATHER AND CLIMATE

2. Weather is the condition of the atmosphere at a particular time and place. It is the day-to-day change in Temperature Wind Precipitation

3. PRECIPITATION Any form of liquid or solid water particles that fall from the atmosphere.

4. WEATHER The study of weather is called meteorology. A scientist who studies and predicts the weather is called a meteorologist. Weather of a place changes everyday.

5. CLIMATE Climate is the weather condition of a place over a long period of time, say twenty to thirty years. Different parts of the world experience different types of climate. For example: Hot and wet Hot and dry Cold Moderate

6. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WEATHER AND CLIMATE Weather Climate It is the daily condition of the atmosphere at a particular time and place. It is the average weather condition over a long period of time. It may change many times during a day. It remains the same for a long period of time. The scientist who studies weather is called a meteorologists. The scientist who studies climate is called a climatologist.

7. FACTORS AFFECTING CLIMATE Latitude or Distance from the Equator Places near the Equator are hotter than the places near the poles.

8. FACTORS AFFECTING CLIMATE: LATITUDE The Sun’s rays fall directly on the places near the Equator. So, these places get maximum warmth of the Sun and are hotter. The poles receive slanting rays of the Sun which are scattered over a larger area. So, these places remain cold.

9. FACTORS AFFECTING CLIMATE: LATITUDE The polar regions also experience the greatest difference between the summer and the winter day lengths. There are times in summers, when the Sun doesn’t set at all. In contrast, during the winter season, the Sun doesn’t rise at all leading to total darkness.

10. FACTORS AFFECTING CLIMATE: LATITUDE

11. FACTORS AFFECTING CLIMATE - ALTITUDE Altitude or Height Above the Sea Level Altitude of a place means its height from the sea level. The temperature of a place decreases with the increase in the altitude. The atmosphere gets heated up near the surface of the Earth. The air is dense near the surface of the Earth. As we go higher, the air becomes less dense.

12. The temperature decreases by -1 degree for every 165 m height Low Temperature High Temperature

13. FACTORS AFFECTING CLIMATE Distance from the Sea: Places located near or along the sea are called coastal areas. Places located away from the sea are called inland areas. Coastal areas have a moderate climate throughout the year. Inland areas are warmer compared to the coastal areas.

14. FACTORS AFFECTING CLIMATE Places near the sea have a small range of temperature. For example, in Mumbai, winters are not very cold and summers are not very hot. Places far away from the sea have a great range of temperature. For example, in Delhi, climate is very cold in winters and very hot in summers.

15. SEA BREEZE Coastal areas have moderate climate because of sea breeze and land breeze. It is also called on shore winds. Sea breeze blows during the day.

16. LAND BREEZE Wind that blows from land to sea is called the land breeze. It is also called offshore winds. Land breeze blows during the night.

17. FACTORS AFFECTING CLIMATE Direction of the Wind: The wind that blows from the sea to the land carries moisture and brings rainfall to the coastal areas. This is called onshore winds or sea breeze. The wind that blows from land to the sea is called offshore wind or the land breeze. The land breeze from warm areas will be dry and hot whereas from cold areas it will be cold and dry.

18. FACTORS AFFECTING CLIMATE Humidity and Rainfall: Humidity is the amount of moisture or water vapour present in air. Areas close to the sea/coastal areas are more humid than the inland areas. The winds that blow from the sea contains lot of moisture. When these winds blow towards the land, they cause rainfall. In cold places, humidity causes snowfall.